DUBAI: Earlier this year, in May to be precise, the United Arab Emirates women's cricket team came close to making history in the Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier.
On the back of their captain Esha Oza's blistering knock, they fell short by 15 runs in the semi-final against Sri Lanka to miss their ticket to the World Cup.
So when the World Cup shifted to Dubai and Sharjah, even though they were not participants in the tournament, the players sensed the opportunity to make the most as net bowlers attached to the Indian team. Siya Gokhale, UAE's pacer, is one of them.
"The first thought was do we become a host nation? Do we get to play in the World Cup? Then obviously, we found out that Bangladesh are still a host, they are just doing it in UAE. We were a little bummed out by that," Gokhale told this daily.
Even with that disappointment, they brushed it aside to focus on learning from Indian players in the nets. Currently, Oza, Archana Supriya - the left-arm spinner, Kavisha Egodage - the off-spinner and Gokhale are helping India out in the nets throughout the tournament.
Having played against the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana on previous occasions in the Asia Cup, Gokhale was immensely excited to test her skills against them.
"I wanted to bowl to Harmanpreet Kaur. I love the way she bats. Richa Ghosh is an aggressive batter too. That's someone you want to bowl to because she has three shots for one ball. If you bowl the right ball to her, and she is not hitting you, that means you have done a good job. For me, the aim is to maintain that consistency. India's bowling coach (Former India cricketer Aavishkar Salvi) mentioned we are looking at you as you are coming here to improve your bowling. In addition, it is that our batters get bowling as well. So I think that's a fresh mindset," Gokhale added.
Gokhale, who got into cricket because of her grandfather's love for the sport, also wanted to use this opportunity to learn from the best players and coaches in the world in her own backyard.
Having most of the support staff, including head coach Amol Muzumdar, from Mumbai has helped her get that knowledge from the players.
"They have been very approachable and supportive. There is one good perk of being Marathi, and from Mumbai: most of the support staff are from Mumbai. The first day I showed up and I heard them speaking in Marathi and I was comfortable. When you have the likes of Amol sir were calling me in Marathi. Even the players themselves are so approachable. I have spoken to the likes of Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, and Saima Thakor. It's just amazing that they provide that insight. You can do this well, but that is what you can do to level up your game," Gokhale explains.
Bowling to one of her favourites, Kaur, is the experience Gokhale will hold close to her heart. What she tried to absorb from India's captain was the way she planned what she wanted to gain from the net sessions.
"I remember going to Harman and she was clear with her mindset. She said, 'I have put up this field for you. I want you to bowl in this specific area. And keep bowling there'. And it was good. Maybe in the first over she tended to have a bit of a struggle with. By the end, she had perfectly mastered that shot. And I think that reflected in the game against Sri Lanka as well with the knock she played."
She also gained much-needed confidence while bowling at the stars of India like Jemimah Rodrigues and Ghosh. "I remember bowling to Jemimah and Richa. These are very aggressive batters. So when you go and bowl well to them and you hear them say that, it's a very satisfactory feeling. It makes you feel that you have left a mark on one of the top batters in the world, not just the country or continent. I think it gave me a lot of confidence," she added.
More than just learning Gokhale was keen to understand how the professional teams prepare for the biggest stage while concentrating on the minutest details of the game.
"Getting to see what the top teams prepare like what is their pre-match or pre-training routine? How do they get past those tough stages? It's a different ball game. I think it is a wonderful opportunity we have as a net bowling unit to go up close and see how they're training so that we have a lot more takeaways to bring back to our camp to bridge that gap eventually that's there currently," she added.
With the 2026 T20 World Cup on the horizon, Gokhale wants to prepare so she can represent UAE at the grandest stage. Not as a net bowler, but as a member of the team. And, the experience she has gained by being around the Indian team will come handy in fulfilling that dream.